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Monday, May 7, 2012

Wagon Wheel Pizza Doesn't Roll for Me.

Wagon Wheel Pizza

164 South MainMonticello, Utah, 84535

(435) 587-2766

Website: N/A

First off, let me state that I was asked to do a review of Wagon Wheel by an anonymous commentor on my food blog page for Thatzza Pizza, a newly opened pizza competitor for Wagon Wheel. Remember folks, I'm a pizza snob and very tough when it comes to pizza reviews. I've traveled to many places in and out of the United States, and trying pizza whenever I could was always on the list of things to do.

Wagon Wheel Pizza was established in 1984 and is owned by Susan, a former resident of Florida. When entering Wagon Wheel, it looks like a typical pizzeria with booths lining one wall and a few tables here or there. After about a 5 minute wait while Susan finished prepping a pizza for the oven, my order was taken, and questions answered, with a friendly smile. I was told my order would be ready in 25 minutes, but it actually took 45 minutes which gave me time to see some of my food prepared.

The Meatball Sandwich consists of three frozen 2" meatballs that are defrosted in the microwave, mixed with sauce and then heated again in the microwave. They are sliced in half, placed on an untoasted 6" sub roll and garnished with slices of green bell pepper and onion. Once unwrapped, the sub cannot be picked up to be eaten as it has become a "hot mess" with the roll falling apart from not being toasted. A fork is a must if you order this sandwich.

If you want chicken wings, you must ask for them as they are not listed on the menu; they come with a choice of two sauces: hot or bbq. They are baked on parchment paper, so do not expect a crisp texture since the wings are basically steaming in the fat coming off the wings and caught on the paper. While the chicken was fully cooked with a mild bbq flavor, the thick, gummy skin was totally unappealing.

The pizza at Wagon Wheel does not use the typical Utah style of crust, namely focaccia bread. The crust is thinner, allowing for a browned and crispy texture.

The sauce, while having a good flavor and you can see the herbs, is smeared thin; the cheese is thick, but not the creamy, gooey type that one associates with pizza. To get a single bite of cheese with crust, you must completely bite through the slice, or the cheese comes sliding off in a complete sheet. As the pizza cools, the cheese congeals more and the crust becomes very tough.

To be fair, I have to say that Susan was busy prepping food, checking on the oven, plating food, while her two workers were either filling salt and pepper shakers, or filling a drink order for 8 people - 2 drinks at a time; guess the employee didn't know how to carry a tray. The drink order employee then completed the meatball sandwich; was going to put it in the oven for toasting and then changed her mind. That was a big mistake in my book.